


Reverse

by Flubi



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Depression, Dimension Travel, Gen, Hospitals, Raleigh Becket Died and Yancy Becket Lived, Raleigh Becket Dies, Sort Of, Time Travel Fix-It, Trauma, Yancy Becket Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flubi/pseuds/Flubi
Summary: Raleigh goes into the breach and comes out in a new universe. One where he was the one torn away and Yancy was the one that piloted Gipsy Danger back to shore. When his escape pod pops out of the breach a kaiju comes out with him, intent on bringing him back into the breach before he can reach the other humans.
Relationships: Raleigh Becket & Yancy Becket, Yancy Becket & Tendo Choi
Comments: 34
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> tagged the triggers i could think of, lmk if i haven't tagged anything!
> 
> this is still a work in progress, mostly me just playing w/ a what-if, what if by collapsing the breach between earth and precursor's dimension raleigh was sent to another.

Tendo was sitting in his perch with a cup of coffee in his hands when the breach spiked with activity. Years of practice had him setting the cup down on the desk without spilling a drop and immediately analyzing the info on the LED display.

His brows furrowed at what he saw.

Two incursions from the breach. But only one was a kaiju according to the scans.

His brow furrowed more when the scans identified it as an escape pod. That wasn't possible. There hadn't been any escape pods unaccounted for in the past five years, and none anywhere near the breach.

He cursed then set off the alarms. He notified the Marshal and sent alerts to the pilots bunks. Calling all the remaining, unaccounted LOCCENT techs up, Tendo's eyes never left the LED display even if his rolling chair rolled all around the LOCCENT.

Tendo wasn't getting any data from the escape pod but that could be a side effect of it coming out of the fucking breach. The only upside as of now was that the Kaiju, codenamed Bonemaw, hadn't noticed the escape pod yet. He leaned forward, feeling the chair inch back, his eyes were locked on the escape pod that had just surfaced. Bonemaw was acting in a very odd way, it was moving in a growing spiral starting from the breach.

His attention was dragged away from that display by the first pilots being suited up and ushered into their conn pod. Tendo sighed in relief and guided Cherno Alpha's pilots through neural handshake. He wished they had more pilots on deck, but the last team wouldn't be here until later in the day.

Marshal Pentecost made himself known by guiding the triplets through their own neural handshake. The Jaegers were sent out shortly along with a medical helicopter.

"Alright guys, the Kaiju, codenamed Bonemaw, is a Cat. IV. It's characterized by the large bone growths surrounding its mouth and front legs. Probably meant to rip and tear. So watch out for that. And..." Tendo's eyes flickered over to the LED projector, momentarily muting his comm. Marshal Pentecost followed his gaze when he paused. The pilots confirmed they heard the info and waited for the rest.

"What is it?" Tendo took a deep breath and unmuted his comm.

"Before Bonemaw came out of the breach, there was another incursion. An escape pod came out minutes before Bonemaw did. I'm currently not receiving any sort of feedback from the pod, but I want you to assume that there is someone alive in there." Tendo took a gulp of his coffee, he'd need it. The pilots let out their own expressions of shock and disbelief. Tendo was still grappling with his own but the sensors didn't lie. Marshal Pentecost leaned over him to get a better look at the projector.

"There's also something else, Bonemaw is moving in a way that suggests it is searching for something. I don't want to be a pessimist but the only logical conclusion as of now is that it is searching for the escape pod." Tendo turned to the Marshal, watching his expressions. The Marshal hadn't turned away from the LED projector since he'd started analyzing it.

"You may not be entirely wrong." Marshal Pentecost weighed in. The pilots didn't seem to believe Tendo and he wanted them to be right.

"It hasn't found the escape pod yet, but it is only a matter of time. The other bit of good news is that it's not making any intent towards landfall, but the bad news is that it's going to take longer for you guys to get out there. So settle in for a two hour flight, you'll intercept Bonemaw about two hours away from the breach." Tendo muted himself and turned to the two standing behind him. 

He had no clue when Yancy had gotten there but it wasn't entirely unexpected for Yancy to ghost into a room. Not after Raleigh had died.

After Raleigh had been ripped out of Gipsy Danger's conn pod, Yancy had killed Knifehead and spent hours searching for Raleigh's corpse. He hadn't found it. 

But the most disturbing thing was when they pulled the recordings from the conn pod after they'd found Yancy and Gipsy Danger washed up on shore. The audio had been eerily silent, and if it wasn't for Yancy's occasional quiet sob of Raleigh's name they would've thought the recordings had been corrupted.

Tendo still has nightmares about the audio files from the conn pod.

Yancy had never recovered from losing Raleigh. He hardly ever spoke anymore, he had lost his vibrance.

After his medical leave ended the Marshal gave him one of two options, be honorably discharged or continue working in the shatterdome (everybody knew that Yancy would never be able to pilot again, not after that). Yancy switched from pilot to J-tech, working on whatever jaeger was in the bay and in need of repairs.

Whenever the jaegers and their pilots were deployed he'd come and watch in LOCCENT.

Tendo's eyes slid over to the Marshal.

"We aren't receiving any data from the escape pod? No signs of life? Nothing?" The Marshal crossed his arms and leaned against a desk. The set of his shoulders conveyed his unease with the situation better than a frown ever could.

"I'm not getting anything from it. This may be due to the fact that it doesn't seem to match any of our previous missing escape pods. Or that it came out of the breach." Tendo's eyes slid over the projector. The ocean currents were tugging the escape pod towards land, but eventually Bonemaw would think to look up. If he had to guess, Bonemaw knew it was looking for something, but not exactly what.

"I don't like it."

"Me neither."

For now it was a waiting game.

* * *

Bonemaw looked up. 

Bonemaw swam straight for the escape pod and grabbed it in one of its paws. Tendo and everyone in LOCCENT held their breath in horror.

On the LED Bonemaw didn't immediately crush the escape pod like a kaiju has done in the past. Instead it held it and tilted its head to examine the escape pod.

Bonemaw was interrupted from doing anything else when a siren blared from behind it. No one cheered when Cherno Alpha dropped behind the kaiju. Crimson Typhoon was just a few seconds slower. Tendo slid into his chair and directed the helicopters to hang back, but be prepared to grab the escape pod when there was an opportunity.

* * *

The fight was mercifully quick. Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon were able to find a way around Bonemaw's impressive defenses relatively quickly. The jaegers only suffered minor damages, the pilots were little more than bruised.

The real concern throughout the fight was making sure the escape pod was undamaged. They were lucky that Bonemaw seemed to want the escape pod as undamaged as they did. 

(No one wanted to even start theorizing why that was. Except a K-Science who muttered and paced in the back of LOCCENT.)

Tendo barely spared a glance at the last two pilot's entrance, and directed one of the helicopters to lower and secure the escape pod. 

One of the medics on the helicopter had lowered themselves down to the escape pod and confirmed that whoever was in there, was alive and that the life support was functioning. They didn't want to risk disrupting the life support until they got the escape pod back to shore, so they left the man in the escape pod.

"Tendo, I don't recognize him or his drive suit, it's different from all the drive suits I've ever seen. It's new, but it does have the PPDC logo on it. The drive suit is damaged in a few spots, places where a pilot would have damage from being thrown around." The medic's voice rang over the comms. Everyone listened silently to the medics report.

"What did he look like? Can you give me a description? Any identifying features?" Tendo spoke into the comm while Marshal Pentecost briefed the two pilots in the back on the situation. The medic made a thinking sound.

"I didn't see any tattoos, scars or piercings on him. Mind you, the only exposed skin is his face and neck, so my description will be fairly limited." The medic paused, waiting for Tendo's affirmation. Tendo gave it.

"But he's about six foot, give or take without the drive suit on maybe 190lbs. He's got short blond hair, of caucasian descent, decently tanned. His nose looks like it's been broken before and he looks like he's malnourished. Maybe for a couple of years? It's hard to tell without blood work." The medic stopped, having told all the info he thought was relevant. Tendo hummed.

"Can you tell me more about his drive suit?" For lack of anything better to do, Tendo asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah. This isn't really my field so I'll try my best. It's black, shiny. Under his right pec, there are three ports for life support. So he ran the right hemisphere, I think? The forearms also have writing on them in red. It's hard to make out but I think it says danger? Besides that, there aren't any decals or noticeable features." Tendo's heart stopped and he turned towards Marshal Pentecost.

Marshal Pentecost was staring at him too, with an unreadable expression.

"Are you positively sure that it says danger on the forearm?" Marshal Pentecost took over the interrogation of the medic while Tendo shoved his chair towards another terminal. The worker that sat there quickly got out of his way.

Gipsy Danger was still being repaired, but she was almost done. The last few touches would be finished within the next few days. But that wasn't the important part. It was the drive suit. Gipsy Danger's drive suit was the typical shiny black of recent American pilots. It had no markings or decals on it besides the jaegers name on the forearms.

It wasn't possible that this unknown pilot was wearing Gipsy Danger's drive suit. It wasn't even finished yet because its pilots had yet to be confirmed. Marshal Pentecost was still trying to convince Yancy to be a pilot, and the other pilot was to be picked from a pool of candidates selected by Mako. It simply wasn’t possible this unknown man had gotten his hands on a Gipsy Danger drive suit.

But.

But this man was in an unknown escape pod, one that wasn’t on record. He’d come out of the breach. Bonemaw was looking for him, and didn’t make any moves to kill him once it had him.

Tendo massaged his forehead. He didn’t like this. His answers would have to wait until they could interrogate him.

“Marshal, I think he’s waking up!” Tendo’s eyes snapped open and everyone that was privy to the comms sat up straight. Marshal Pentecost and Yancy were leaned over the mic exchanging glances. It was still half an hour til the helicopters and the jaegers were back on shore.

“Shit. Will his life support sustain him until you get back to shore?” Tendo strong-armed his way between the two when it looked like they weren’t going to say anything. The medic told him to wait. The wind picked up and a few grunts came over the comm. Then a thud, like boots landing on hollow metal.

“It looks like it!” The medic shouted over the sound of the wind. “I’m going to continue to monitor his status. It looks like he is settling back down, likely just being jostled too much by the air currents.” Yancy nodded and leaned against the desk.

“If he still isn’t awake by now, there were likely problems getting out of the conn pod. According to the scans the medic sent, the pilot was low on oxygen before surfacing. He shouldn’t wake until we get him in the med bay.” Tendo grunted and started coordinating the return teams. Along with sending a team of medics to the launch bay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> discussion of what to do with the unknown pilot.
> 
> Potential triggers: doctors, scene in a hospital room

The medics had banned any LOCCENT personnel and pilots from entering the side of the med bay that contained the as of yet unidentified pilot. A wise decision on their part. The unknown pilot was suffering from various injuries and conditions, and likely wouldn’t wake up for a few days.

To make up for banning everyone from visiting the unknown pilot, they assembled a profile on the pilot and ran various tests on him in an attempt to identify him. They came up empty. He didn’t exist in any records they’d made or had access to.

They submitted the profile to the Marshal with minimal fuss.

* * *

When Stacker Pentecost had received the report on the unknown pilot, he’d sat in his office for half an hour just processing it. After he’d gathered his thoughts and poured himself a cup of coffee, he called in Herc, Mr. Becket, Mako, and Mr. Choi.

He sat at his desk, sipping his coffee while he waited for the three to arrive. It was impossible. But here were the facts. He tapped on a picture of the pilot and zoomed in.

He’d aged, but there was no mistaking it. The pilot was Raleigh Becket who’d died five years ago while his brother lived. His mind struggled to wrap around the idea. All he needed was Yancy’s confirmation that this was his dead brother

Mako was the first to arrive, immediately taking up post by his side.

Herc arrived second, his son paused outside before being beckoned inside by Stacker.

“Come in, you’ll be briefed after your father anyways.” Chuck shuffled inside, falling into parade rest as soon as he was beside his father. He threw a look between his father, Mako and Stacker.

“There’s an update on the pilot?” Herc questioned. Mako glanced at Herc before steadying her gaze on him. She hadn't been in LOCCENT when it had gone down. She'd been occupied elbows deep in repairing Gipsy Danger. Stacker had told her all he knew (and could tell her) after the pilot was put in the med bay. There was a kind of hope ignited by hearing about this pilot being pulled from the ocean.

One he didn't want to acknowledge.

Stacker was prevented from answering by Mr. Choi and Mr. Becket entering the room. Their conversation about jaeger upgrades petered out when Mr. Becket took the only other seat in the room. Mr. Choi stood by his elbow.

“There’s an update about the pilot. I’m afraid it is better and worse than what we were expecting.” Stacker sorted through the files on his desk, delaying the inevitable for just a few half seconds. Then passed Mr. Becket the file on the pilot.

“I just need you to confirm something about the pilot before we move on. Is he Raleigh Becket, Mr. Becket?” Stacker steeled himself. His people were too disciplined to react loudly or violently, but it still would not be pleasant.

“Raleigh Becket? Didn’t he die five years ago?” Chuck Hansen dropped his parade rest, and looked between the file, Stacker, and Mr. Becket. Herc’s brows were furrowed and his face pinched, the family resemblance jumped out with that one expression. 

Mako was the calmest of the lot, she hadn't had much contact with Raleigh Becket before he'd died, but the name was still familiar to her. One she'd heard only mentioned in relation to Mr. Becket and (not often) Gipsy Danger. But she almost dropped her tablet.

Mr. Choi looked like someone had reopened an old wound and started sprinkling salt inside it. He carefully placed his hand on Mr. Becket’s shoulder and also looked over the file. Mr. Choi’s face jumped from expression to expression, seemingly unable to decide what he was feeling as he read.

On the other hand, Mr. Becket was steely. His face was cold, and his body stiff. He gave nothing away as he read the file.

Slowly Mr. Becket closed the file and put it back on his desk.

“He looks like my brother.” He finally said.

“But is he Raleigh Becket?” Stacker pressed.

“He looks like my brother.” Mr. Becket paused, “Down to the old scar he got when he jumped off the roof of our shed when we were eight years old. He looks like him. But my brother died five years ago.” Mr. Becket looked away. He was done speaking.

“How is that possible?” Herc asked, not expecting an answer.

“There’s something odd about this.” Mr. Choi grabbed his chin and his eyes gained a faraway quality. Everyone’s attention turned to him.

“Mr. Choi?” Mako prompted.

“The pilot appears to be the same age Raleigh would be if he’d lived. He has the same scars that Yance did when he came out of Gipsy Danger. He looks like a clone of Raleigh Becket. The kaiju wanted him. He’s suffering brain damage characteristic of piloting a jaeger solo, multiple times. He’s been exposed to radiation recently, and intensely. He came out of the breach. There’s something we’re missing, we need to talk to the pilot.” Mr. Choi stopped and turned to Stacker, his gaze sharp.

“You won’t get access to him until we’re cleared to by the doctors. He’s not awake yet.” Stacker said.

“But family would be able to.” Everyone’s eyes turned to Mr. Becket. He stared Stacker down.

“You said he wasn’t your brother.”

“He isn’t. But we need to know. The pilot looks enough like Raleigh for me to claim that he is my brother, especially if you back me up Marshal.” Stacker considered Mr. Becket’s words. He would need to create a backstory for the pilot. Convince the head doctor, and likely have a blood test done. There were too many coincidences, and not enough answers.

“Okay.” Stacker made a note to fabricate a story for the two. Maybe this pilot was Raleigh Becket’s long lost twin? Dr. Basa wouldn’t believe it, but it’d make her stop and examine the resemblance between the pilot and the deceased Raleigh Becket. He made note to have Mako inform Dr. Basa. She'd taken a liking to Mako.

"There's also the fact that this pilot is suffering brain damage congruent with piloting solo. The kind of brain damage that means he won't be able to step foot inside a jaeger again without having a seizure." Mr. Choi grabbed the file again and flipped to the pages detailing his medical history and passed it onto Herc.

Herc grabbed the file and his eyebrows flew up. "He won't be able to assist with Operation Pitfall anyways. Brain damage or not, he won't be strong enough to pilot a jaeger for a few months. Whatever went on in the breach really messed him up." 

Chuck whistled behind him.

"Yeah, no kidding. I wouldn't want to be him when he wakes up."

Mr. Choi leaned an elbow onto Mr. Becket's chair.

"The question now is, what do we do while we wait for him to wake up? We can't just sit here and idly speculate."

Stacker resisted the urge to snort.

"You will do nothing but return to your posts and work as if nothing is wrong. Now get out, I have to brief the Wei Tang clan and the Kaidonovskys."

* * *

Briefing the Wei Tang clan and Kaidonovskys was simpler than briefing the other group. Mainly because he didn't pass around the pilots file or allude to him possibly being Raleigh Becket's look alike.

He'd merely stated that the man they'd saved was alive and recovering. That they still didn't have much information on him. And that he'd keep them in the loop if anything major happened.

They'd left the room satisfied. Stacker took a moment to slump against his desk. Then straightened up and began writing the request for a genetic test to be run on the pilot.

* * *

A day later, the bloodwork came through. 

It confirmed that the pilot was related to Yancy Becket. After they got the results back they compared it to Raleigh Becket’s previous bloodwork. It was a match. Yancy was silent for a while after the results came in. He didn’t want him to be his brother. His brother had died five years ago.

A few hours later, Yancy was granted visiting privileges. The pilot, who might be his brother, hadn’t woken up yet. He walked into the room and went straight for the chair by the bed. He sat and analyzed the man in front of him.

Yancy was pissed. 

He didn’t want this. He’d adjusted to living without his brother. He wanted his brother back, but he was afraid of what he’d gotten by wishing for him back. He was afraid that the man would never wake up, and he’d be sitting on the edge of his seat waiting foolishly for the chance to talk with him again, to joke and laugh.

Yancy settled his chin in his hand and traced the curve of the man’s jaw with his eyes.

He didn’t want his brother to be ripped away again.

Yancy stood up and left the room without saying a word

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next! Raleigh wakes up! Momentarily thinks he made it out of the breach just fine, then he thinks he's dead! And lots of crying.
> 
> mako and chuck orig werent supposed to be in this chapter so I apologize if there isn't a lot of dialogue for them. yancy is also really wiers to write bc I've set him so far from what little we get a glimpse of in canon.
> 
> also I typed some of this while I was listening to my algebra lecture so sorry if some of that slipped in.
> 
> thank you to everyone who has commented, kudosed, bookmarked and subscribed! I didn't really expect this much of a response!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> raleigh wakes up, meets a cold nurse, confusion ensues. then pentecost meets raleigh.
> 
> trigger warnings: doctors, ivs, scene in hospital room.

Raleigh felt consciousness come to him slowly. He felt like dogshit that had been sitting in the sun for weeks. His whole body ached.

He opened his eyes and immediately shut his eyes. Ouch. The lights in his room were not his friend, apparently. Testing the waters again he cracked his eyes open a sliver again. It hurt a lot, but he would have to get used to the brightness if he wanted to see anytime soon.

He brought his hand up to rub his eyes but felt a tug at his elbow. Through his squinted eyes he saw that there was an iv in his elbow. He followed the tube all the way over to the wall of machines monitoring his vitals.

Wow. That was a lot of machines. Raleigh blinked, letting his eyes trail over the screens. He couldn't comprehend what they were conveying, so he hoped it was good.

He looked around his bed, searching for a I've-just-woken-up-and-need-a-nurse button. When he found it he pushed it and leaned back.

Not even a minute later a nurse burst in with a clipboard. He awkwardly waved at him when he just stared at him like he should be dead. Not far off the mark, honestly.

He snapped out of their daze and all but ran over to him. He grabbed his chin and made him follow his pen light. He huffed at the man handling but let him direct Raleigh. The nurse hadn't spoken since he'd arrived.

"So, what's your name? Kind of unfair you know mine but I don't know yours." Raleigh said when the nurse tucked away his penlight and wrote something on his clipboard.

"Doctor Xuē Li Ming, I am your nurse. And I don't." Raleigh blinked at that. Even if everybody in the shatterdome didn't know him and Mako from their drops, Dr. Xuē should know him from his files. Maybe he was playing a joke on him?

"What?"

"Do you know where you are?" Dr. Xuē ignored his question.

"Now hold on, this joke isn't funny." Raleigh pushed himself up, ignoring the twinge of pain from the iv. Dr. Xuē sent him a sharp look and pushed him back down. Raleigh let him.

"There's no joke. Do you know where you are?" Dr. Xuē repeated.

"Hong Kong Shatterdome, med bay." His brows furrowed when it occurred to him that Mako wasn't here. She could be in another room, but usually pilots weren't separated. 

Unless one was injured fatally enough that the other pilot would be constantly distressed by being in the same room as them. 

Or the other pilot was dead.

"Do you know the year? The date?" Raleigh's attention was brought back to Dr. Xuē.

"2025, January 12th or something. Where's Mako?" Raleigh's breathing picked up, he noted.

"Miss Mori? She's with the Marshal. How do you know her?" Dr. Xuē made a note on his clipboard again. Raleigh's breathing slowed. She was alive and walking around if she was already with the Marshal. Was it Herc? He seemed like the obvious choice to succeed Marshal Pentecost.

"We met a few weeks ago, she was rebuilding Gipsy Danger. Can I see her?" Another mark on the clipboard.

"Hm. As soon as you are cleared for visitors, we will send her in. What's your birthday?"

"December 11th, 1998."

"Are you in any pain?"

"Uh, just a little nauseous. Some head pain. And sore. I feel like a kaiju ate me and spit me back out. Speaking of kaiju, how'd the operation go?" Raleigh furrowed his brows and stared at the clipboard.

"The operation went well. The trauma to your head won't affect your everyday life, but you won't be able to step foot inside a jaeger ever again. Not to mention the various fractures throughout your skeletal structure. You will likely be in crutches for a while." 

Raleigh grimaced. He hated crutches, but he preferred them over a wheelchair. The physical therapy he would have to do on his legs would be too much. Not to mention the physical therapy that he'd have to do alone.

"When will I be released?"

"Dr. Basa will see you and then the Marshal. Once they've both visited you and given the okay, you will be dismissed to your quarters."

"Okay."

Dr. Xuē ran a few more tests and then left the room.

It took half an hour before Dr. Basa came into the room. He’d assumed it was because she was reading over the notes Dr. Xuē had written on him. She came in and sat in a chair by his bedside.

“We’ll have to run more testing but we think you have acute amnesia. Before that, I have a few questions to ask you.”

“Amnesia?”

“Yes, you don’t remember your name and you’ve gotten the date wrong. May I start asking you questions now?”

“Wait, I know my name! I’m Raleigh Becket. And the date can’t be wrong, maybe a few days wrong but it can’t be wrong enough to diagnose me with amnesia. You can’t just diagnose me with acute amnesia based on that little evidence.” Raleigh said. His body shaking from the mass of emotions welling up inside of him. Dr. Basa looked at him with a calm eye before writing something on her clipboard. He was beginning to hate those clipboards.

“Are you sure you’re Raleigh Becket? Without a doubt?”

“Yes!”

“Hm. This is more complicated than I thought, but it does explain a few things. I do apologize about the misdiagnosis, Dr. Xuē was working with very little information.”

“What?”

“What is the last thing you remember before waking up?”

“I… I’d sent Mako back through the breach in her escape pod with my oxygen because hers was damaged. I looked outside Gipsy and saw the… the-” Raleigh clutched his head as pain shot through it just remembering the absolute wrongness of the Precursor’s dimension. “Fuck. The colors, they were too much so I had to look away. I couldn’t look at them without feeling like my mind was being flayed.” He ground his palms into his forehead. Those images would be forever engraved into his mind.

“I put my back to Gypsy’s visor and focused on setting off Gipsy’s core. She was our only hope of blowing up the breach. So I removed the safety protocols on her reactor and… that’s where it gets hazy. I think I made it back to my escape pod. I didn’t get very far before Gispy went off and I passed out… Then I woke up here.” 

During all of that Dr. Basa was writing down everything he said on her clipboard. Maybe he wouldn’t have to say all of that again if Dr. Basa passed on her notes to whoever was in charge and wanted to know what went down in the breach. Mako was already passed out by the time they’d made it into the breach.

Dr. Basa sat in her seat reading over what she wrote, and Raleigh sat there patiently. Finally she clicked her pen open and set her gaze back on him.

“Mr. Becket, I will have to call in the Marshal to talk with us, but do you have any lingering pains besides the ones you outlined for Dr. Xuē?” He mutely shook his head, feeling more tired now that he was no longer expected to talk. SHe clicked her pen closed and stood up.

“Alright, rest up. The Marshal and I will be back in a few hours to talk with you.” She smiled at him and left the room. He took her advice and went to sleep.

* * *

“Marshal, he thinks he’s Raleigh Becket, and spoke of the plan to close the breach. Specifically the role he played in it.”

“Explain.”

“He said he and Miss Mori piloted Gipsy Danger into the breach. Miss Mori’s oxygen was damaged so he sent her up early while he detonated Gipsy Danger’s reactor in the breach. He seems to be shaken by what he thinks he saw in the breach. But he set of Gipsy Danger and got into an escape pod. That's all he remembers before waking up in the med bay.”

“Hmm. Do you think he believes what he’s saying?”

“Wholeheartedly.”

* * *

A knock on the door woke him up from his dreamless sleep. He bolted up, only prevented from leaping out of bed by the aches and sores of his body. As he cradled his head in his hands, he said a muffled come in.

Dr. Basa stepped inside. Followed by a familiar form. He blinked, before shaking his head.

“Oh, that makes sense. I’m dead.” Raleigh rubbed his face with his hands, before letting out a disbelieving laugh. The tears started, and he seemed unable to stop them. He knew he wouldn’t make it, but he had stubbornly hoped.

He had probably died in Gipsy’s detonation and this was all some little fantasy. A world where he made it out of the breach alive and everyone he cared for was alive.

“Mr. Becket, I can assure you, you are not dead.” Raleigh turned his focus to Marshal Pentecost. He was exactly as he remembered him. Down to the stern look he was sending him.

“I have to be dead, you died taking down Scunner and damaging Slattern. Or I’m insane.”

“Mr. Becket, it is January 3rd, 2025. Operation Pitfall hasn’t been enacted yet. The pilots for Gypsy Danger haven’t been picked yet. And I am not dead.” Marshal Pentecost reached over and pinched Raleigh’s forearm. When he hissed Marshal Pentecost pulled away.

“The dead do not feel pain.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry! didn't think its been two weeks, time has flown by while im busy at college.
> 
> next chapter: yancy and raleigh officially meet, the kaidonovskys approach yancy, and raleigh is ambushed by newton. not necessarily in that order.

Tears started back up again, and he was too emotionally jumbled up to stop them. He covered his face and laughed.

“You’re right. Just my luck. I’m back at the beginning.” He kept his face covered and curled up. The two in the room let him gather his wits, he’d need them. He’d already broken down twice while in their presence. He was already at his limit.

“Back at the beginning Mr. Becket?” Dr. Basa started carefully. Raleigh turned to her.

"Is there another me here? I can't be in my old body. I have injuries from operation pitfall on top of the ones from the wall. So I'm not in the body of my younger self. And I haven't died so maybe those theories on time travel got that wrong? Did I override a previous version of me?" Raleigh theorized to himself.

"Or am I even in a world like my own? What was the name of the first kaiju to come through the breach and on what date?" Raleigh turned to the two sitting at his bedside. They looked between each other.

"Trespasser, it came through on August 10th, 2013. It landed in San Francisco and was killed in Oakland on the 15th. Does that match up?" Marshal Pentecost said.

Raleigh nodded. He asked them about events that happened and confirmed that so far their worlds were the same. Until he brought up Knifehead.

"Gipsy Danger was dropped on July 7th, 2020 to take down Kaiju codenamed: Knifehead. Another jaeger was deployed to help us, but they were too far out." Raleigh said.

Dr. Basa nodded when Marshal Pentecost looked at her. Dread settled in Raleigh's gut.

"That is correct. I think this is where our stories will diverge, Mr. Becket."

"What do you mean, Marshal?"

"That day, Gipsy Danger did drop and take down Knifehead. You and Yancy Becket saved a fishing boat and killed Knifehead, or so we thought. It wasn't dead, just acting like it was. It leapt out of the ocean, taking Gipsy Danger's pilots by surprise."

Raleigh could feel his face paling. We're both he and his brother dead here? Marshal stared at him for a bit, analyzing him.

"Knifehead killed pilot Raleigh Becket. Pilot Yancy Becket lived. Pilot Yancy Becket took down Knifehead and barely piloted his jaeger back to shore."

"Oh." Raleigh felt both empty and relieved at the same time. His brother was alive. But he wasn't.

"Was Yancy piloting the left side?" He led with a simple question.

"Yes." This time Dr. Basa answered. A file opened in her lap.

He knew that he could've died that day. But it hit him hard that switching sides with his brother was enough to save him. Something as simple as that saved his brother. What else could've been different. Different enough to save them both, to kill them both.

"He's still alive, my brother?"

"Yes."

"Is he in the shatterdome?"

"Yes."

"Can I see him?" Raleigh felt like he was on the edge. The edge of what, he didn't know. The two shared another long look before Marshal Pentecost spoke.

"Yes, we will send… your brother in to see you tomorrow. We've put you through enough emotional distress today."

Raleigh watched them leave. He lowered himself so he was laying on his back staring at the ceiling.

His hand flew up to grab his chest. It hurt so much.

He was in another universe? Everything he'd done had been erased. All of his effort, the people he'd lost… Did they even exist anymore?

Mako… 

He wanted her to be alright. He wanted her to be happy, but he knew she'd always have a part of him inside of her. He wanted that to be enough, because he knew the loss that came with losing a partner.

It was devastating to open yourself up to someone and lose them. You were able to relate to someone on a level only other pilots could sympathize with. And there was only… Hercules. She and Hercules were the only pilots left.

He closed his eyes and hoped.

He hoped she was alive. He hoped he sent her away before the blast went off. He hoped that she lived, lived to see the future they'd worked so hard to realize. The one he was prepared to die for.

It feels like he did. Because he was in a world where he has been dead for five years. No one would be the one he'd known. They'd always see him as a dead man.

That hurt more than he'd thought. He felt like he couldn't breathe. 

Oh god.

He'd always be occupying a space that was never his. A dead man's space where everyone would look at him and think of someone else. He would never be just Raleigh anymore. He'd just be the guy who was trying to replace this universe's Raleigh.

He shook his head.

He was spiraling. He needed to sleep and hope the nightmares wouldn't catch up with him.

* * *

"Dr. Geiszler, Mr. Gottlieb, I want you to collaborate on researching the possible outcomes of the breach collapsing. Specifically the possibility of dimension travel. It is not a priority, but if you find you have free time please give it some thought." Stacker kept his hand on Raleigh Becket's file. 

In a world where giant monsters came out of a rift in the ocean, how impossible was it that Raleigh Becket was an unlikely victim of dimension travel?

Dr. Geiszler puffed up and seemed to have a million questions running through his head. Stacker nodded at him.

"Marshal, does this have anything to do with the escape pod that was recovered from the breach? And the way Bonemaw was acting? Because that was some serious behavior abnormality! Kaiju haven't shown intelligence and forethought like that since Knifehead!" Stacker grimaced at the mention of Knifehead. Everything seemed to lead back to that day lately.

"Yes, that day was an anomaly. There shouldn't have been any kaiju coming out of the breach for at least another few days." Mr. Gottlieb rested both his hands on his cane, one of his eyebrows ticked up.

Stacker sighed, "You are correct, Mr. Gottlieb, Dr. Geiszler. The man recovered from the escape pod is an anomaly of his own. I have reason to believe he is not from our dimension."

The two were stunned into silence. Stacker prepared himself for the wave of questions he knew was coming. It'd be a long few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow I feel like a failure, I had to look up newton and Hermann's last names. anyways, I guess this is the point where side characters are beginning to be weaved in? I want the pilots to have a found fam thing going on, and I think newton should be there like a lil lizard with Hermann as his annoyed caretaker. idk newton just gives off gecko vibes, y'know? 
> 
> Also, does hermann even have a PhD? pentecost referred to him as Mr. In the movie, not dr. but in newton's wiki he has a few doctorates and taught at uni.
> 
> who do you guys want to see? do you feel like im not giving someone enough attention?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yancy talks to some of the other pilots and raleigh gets his butt in a wheelchair

Last night the Marshal visited him and informed him of his talk with the pilot. He had to sit and take in for a while.

This was more than he'd bargained for. This man was possibly his brother from another dimension. Or a man insane and convinced that he was Raleigh Becket.

He didn't really sleep that night and when the 3am shift rolled around he joined the other j-techs in working on Cherno Alpha. They sent him looks, but let him through to work. It wasn't uncommon for Yancy to work on a job this late, or early really.

It became a habit of his after losing his brother. Before he lost his brother, he'd never really thought about being a mechanic or really a j-tech. He and his brother always kind of thought they'd be pilots until the end. Death or retirement. 

Honestly, after the war ended Yancy had plans of going to college and getting a degree in education. He hoped to teach maybe some language or art. Comic books had been an interest of his since he was small. He'd wanted to be a superhero from one of the comic books, but he's lived that life. Now he wants to settle down, live a quieter life. There's no point in being a superhero when his brother isn't there beside him.

So teaching it was. Maybe he could inspire the next generation, fill them with hope and the drive to improve the world.

Yancy was brought from his thoughts when someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and saw the Kaidonovskys behind him. He grabbed a rag and started wiping down his hands, waiting for them to start talking.

"Becket, you seem more… affected recently." Yancy's eye darted between the two of them before settling on Sasha.

"The pilot, who came out of the breach… is a lot more personally connected than we'd previously thought." He said. Aleksis glanced around before gesturing for them to walk with him. They didn't really speak until they got back to the Kaidonovsky's room.

Jaeger pilots tended to gravitate towards each other. They were becoming rarer and rarer with each passing day, so it was no surprise that the Kaidonovskys had picked him up after he lost his brother. He may not be a Jaeger pilot anymore, but he was still one of them.

The connections between pilots had become more important as the teams had been whittled down. As of yet, Striker Eureka’s pilots had yet to reach out. Yancy suspected the Kaidonovskys were planning their next move. They were like that.

Yancy sat on a desk chair, propping his head on his arm. The other two settled in their bed not far away.

"Personally connected, Becket?" Aleksis asked. Yancy scrubbed his face and leaned forward.

"I guess the Marshal didn't give you everything he gave me. The pilot that came out of the breach looks a lot like my brother and is an exact genetic match."

"What are you saying?" Sasha said.

"Based on what the Marshal has gathered from talking to the pilot and the tests he's had done, the pilot is likely my brother from another dimension."

"Fucking hell."

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure. It's unfair that I get the chance to see my brother again but he's not my brother. I’m going to meet with him later today, he’s woken up.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Aleksis asked. Yancy briefly considered it before shaking his head.

“No, I’ll be fine. But if you see the Wei Tang clan before I do, feel free to let them into the loop.” Sasha and Aleksis smiled and he knew they’d be waiting not far outside of med bay.

“Onto lighter topics, how is your jaeger coming along?” Sasha asked. Yancy scrubbed the back of his head and sighed.

“She’s not mine anymore. But Mako and I have made quite a few adjustments to her." Like the chainsword. That would've been nice to have back in the day.

"Just because she's different doesn't mean she's not the same." Aleksis kept eye contact with him before breaking it. Yancy's eyes darted between the two before groaning.

"No stop that. I don't want any sage life advice administered through GD." Yancy said.

"So you admit it is "sage life advice"?" Sasha leaned forward with a grin.

"It's certainly advice. Not sure I want it."

"Regardless of whether or not you want it, you're getting it, Becket."

Yancy let out a little scream. The Kaidonovkys laughter mixed in.

* * *

Raleigh had been awake for the past few hours, most of it filled by nurses running tests and checking his range of movement.

They were unsure what exactly the long term consequences of piloting solo would be until they'd gotten him more on his feet. Figuratively for now, for now he was strapped to a wheelchair when going anywhere that wasn't his bed.

And he was totally fine with that. It was nice to have proper healthcare after spending so long on the wall without any. He wasn't exactly sure he'd be able to get up and walk anymore than five steps anyways. Extended bouts of movement gave him intense headaches and made his joints feel like they were turning into jello.

Not that he'd had many chances to experience that. The nurses only had him walk a few steps to ensure that he still could walk and that his movement wasn't totally stunted by the damage soloing did.

So while walking did make him feel like shit, rolling himself around in his wheelchair didn't. He'd probably feel the burn in his forearms tomorrow, but he'd enjoy this little bit of freedom while it lasted. A nurse was sure to catch onto the fact that he was annoying the other patients with his squeaky wheels soon enough.

He was on his third lap around the med bay when someone cleared their throat behind him. He froze, stopping the wheels with a little burn.

"Alright doc, I can explain." Raleigh executed a three point turn, that he'd practiced extensively, and turned around to face them. The sheepish smile slipped off his face. The light little mood had been in for the past hour popped.

"...Oh."

His brother was standing in front of him with an unsure expression on his face. Raleigh felt the same if he was being honest. This was uncharted territory. But the only way to make a map was to venture on.

"Hi."

"Hi…"

"Right. I'm just going to jump into it. Uh, you cool with me calling you Yance? Or do you want me to call you something else?" Raleigh stumbled out. His hands fluttering between the horrible hospital wheelchair wheels and his own lap.

"Yance… Yance is fine. Raleigh, right?"

"Yeah. C'mon, let's take this back to my room. Don't want a nurse to interrupt us with her nagging. I've been doing a few laps around the med bay, they won't appreciate that."

Raleigh struggled to keep his grip consistent as he turned his chair again. Yancy was only a few steps behind.

Raleigh wanted to break the silence but he didn't know what to say. Or rather what he should say. He could crack a joke or be serious and start out with the heavy stuff or he could talk about the weather he hasn't seen. So he chose none of that. Silence it was.

Raleigh typed in the code for his door and it slid open. He was thankful that these doors were automatic as opposed to the handled ones in the dorms and barracks. They wouldn't be too hard to handle in a wheelchair but he wanted to avoid that for as long as possible.

He hesitated inside his room before pulling up across from the two chairs against the wall, his back to the bed. Yancy sat in one.

A few moments were spent in silence before Raleigh broke them.

"I'm sorry." His voice felt broken and unused even though he'd spoken not long ago.

"What?" Yancy's brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry for a lot of things. Mainly the me that was yours leaving you. I'm not him and I will never be him. I've made choices he didn't have the chance to make, mistakes he'd never even thought possible. I'm sorry for coming into your life after he'd left. I'm sorry for being here." Raleigh kept eye contact with Yancy.

This kind of vulnerability wouldn't have been possible with anyone other than his brother and Mako. This man wasn't his brother, but it was easy to pretend for a moment that he was. That he was just apologizing for leaving when he should've stayed. And it feels right to say these things.

"Don't apologize for being here. You may not be the brother I grew up with, and you can say the same for me. But neither of them would want us to feel like we shouldn't exist." The hand on Yancy's thigh clenched.

"You're right. I just felt like I should say that. This is a really weird situation for me." Raleigh laughed.

"Mm. Yeah." Yancy let out a soft laugh. Raleigh smiled at him.

Raleigh leaned back in his chair. Maybe things would be better than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, sorry for disappearing for two months. i promise if I ever abandon my works I'll let people know. but I have no intention of abandoning this one. it's one of my favs, the kind of fic I want to read. also if u see any typos, please point them out to me, i wrote most of this chapter on my phone. so um thank you for your support and comments!!
> 
> on another note, what do you think of an abo au of pacific rim, except its heavily gutted and all the sex/non-con-y aspects are erased and its family/pack orientated. there wouldn't be any romantic relationships, just an everybody lives family au. i'm really craving family fluff rn if u cant tell. 
> 
> I'm also working on an among us oneshot thats pretty family orientated as well, a big tough nb crewmate adopts a newbie impostor. its at about 8.5k rn, about 3/4 finished, anyone interested?


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